Delta Confirms It Will Give Surface 2 Tablets To 11,000 Pilots

A few days back we picked up on a report which claimed that Delta pilots will be equipped with Microsoft’s new Surface 2 tablets. It should be noted that back in 2011 the airline ran an Electronic Flight Bag program under which its pilots were provided with iPads to use instead of the traditional paper based flight bags. The report claimed that Delta would instead opt for the Surface 2, despite the fact that iPads are already being widely used both in the cabin and in the cockpits as well by various airlines. Delta has confirmed today that it is going to equip 11,000 of its pilots with Microsoft’s latest tablet.

It was said that Delta initially wanted to go with Nokia’s much rumored tablet, but they opted for the Surface 2. It is not known exactly why Delta made this decision, but then again, it isn’t known for sure if the airline ever considered Nokia’s yet to be unveiled tablet in the first place. Surface 2 tablets will be rolled out to pilots flying the Boeing 757 and the Boeing 767 fleets later this year, while all Delta cockpits will switch to the tablet by the end of next year. Delta projects that using tablets instead of heavy paper bags would save the airline $13 million in fuel and other associated costs.